How to Fix Broken Machines, Fires, Vandals, and Geese

Quick Answer

If a machine breaks in The House Always Wins, take it through the workbench repair route. If vandals or fires appear, call out the emergency, stop the active threat, put out fires, then repair money-making machines and restore rating.

Version Note: Patch 1.0.1 Changed This Loop

This guide is written for the early launch route after Patch 1.0.1.

That patch changed several things that matter for repairs and emergencies:

• Slot machines should break less often than at launch.
• Goose and vandal spawn frequency was reduced.
• Graffiti vandals now appear later, after the repair bench and bat path.
• Some softlock-prone progression steps were adjusted.

Because these systems are patch-sensitive, avoid trusting old advice that says vandals or broken machines happen constantly in every run. If your casino still feels impossible to manage, update the game first.

The First Repair Route Starts With Jacob

Your first clear repair path comes from the Jacob task chain. The objective sends you to take a broken slot from Jacob, buy the workbench upgrade, go to the workbench, and repair the slot machine.

Use this route:

1. Reach the Jacob broken slot task.
2. Take the broken slot.
3. Open the tablet upgrade menu.
4. Buy the workbench under the maintenance path.
5. Go to the workbench or repair area.
6. Start the repair prompt on the broken slot.
7. Follow the highlighted repair actions.
8. Put the fixed machine back on the casino floor.

How Machine Repair Works

Do not assume every machine uses the exact same repair sequence. The safe rule is simple: start the repair prompt and follow the highlighted actions until the machine is usable again.

The first broken slot teaches the repair loop, but later machines can ask for different interactions. Some repairs may be short; others may involve more steps or different highlighted parts. If the game still shows the machine as damaged, the repair is not finished.

A reliable repair check is:

Step	What to confirm
Start repair	You are using the workbench or correct repair area.
Follow prompts	Interact only with the highlighted repair points or prompts.
Finish the sequence	Continue until the machine no longer appears broken.
Return to floor	Place the machine where customers can reach it.
Test visually	If it still looks broken or cannot be used, return it to the repair flow.

Emergency Priority Table

Do not treat every problem equally. Some problems stop income immediately, while others mainly hurt cleanliness or service over time.

Use this priority table when the casino starts falling apart:

Situation	Priority	What to do
Fire is active	1	Grab the extinguisher and put it out immediately.
Vandal is damaging the casino	2	Stop the vandal before shopping, decorating, or serving side tasks.
High-value machine is broken	3	Repair it before lower-value cleanup if no fire or vandal is active.
Several machines are broken	4	Repair the best earners first, then older or less-used machines.
Rating is falling from mess, waiting customers, empty shelves, or toilets	5	Fix the fastest rating drain first: clean, serve, restock, or check toilets depending on what is currently visible.
Decoration, upgrades, shopping	6	Do these last, after the casino is safe and functional.

Service and cleanliness can trade priority depending on the room. If a bar line is actively building while the floor is only mildly dirty, serve first. If the floor is covered in goose mess and rating is sliding, clean first.

How to Identify Vandals

The casino has weird customers, zombies, aliens, smokers, and strange-looking NPCs. Do not attack someone just because they look unusual.

A vandal is a problem because of behavior, not just appearance.

Look for these signs:

• They actively hit or damage machines.
• A fire appears near them.
• Customers start reacting or scattering.
• A machine breaks right after they interact with it.
• The Unwelcome Guests tutorial or defense task has appeared.
• They are not behaving like a normal shopper, gambler, lotto customer, or bar customer.

If someone is simply buying water, gambling, smoking, or walking around, wait before swinging the bat. Hitting the wrong customer wastes time and can make the casino more chaotic.

Get the Baseball Bat from Beat ’N’ Run

After the Unwelcome Guests route starts, the game sends you to Beat ’N’ Run for a baseball bat. This is your early anti-vandal tool.

Do not make one player chase every vandal while everyone else ignores the casino. If you are in co-op, the person who sees the vandal should call it out before responding so the rest of the team knows whether to keep working or help.

Use the Fire Extinguisher Before Repairing

A burning machine or floor area is more urgent than a broken machine. Put the fire out first, then worry about the repair.

Use this fire response:

1. Stop your current task.
2. Equip or grab the fire extinguisher.
3. Aim at the fire.
4. Spray until the fire is fully out.
5. Check whether a vandal is still active.
6. Repair damaged machines.
7. Clean or serve depending on what is hurting rating most.

Do not leave a fire burning while you shop, scan bar items, or move furniture.

Multiple Broken Machines: What to Repair First

When several machines break, do not repair randomly. Repair decisions should protect income.

Use this order:

1. Machines customers are actively using or trying to reach.
2. Higher-value or newer machines.
3. Machines placed in your main traffic area.
4. Older machines that still get used.
5. Cheap early machines that nobody is using.

If your old Forest Fever machines are no longer getting visitors, do not let them distract you from better machines. You can repair them later or rethink where they belong on the floor.

Co-op Crisis Roles for 2–4 Players

Co-op is the easiest way to handle casino emergencies, but only if players share information. The most important rule is:

Whoever spots the emergency should call it out before responding.

That prevents three problems:

• Everyone abandons their job for the same vandal.
• Nobody realizes a fire has started.
• Players leave the casino empty while rating, service, or slot money falls behind.

2-player crisis split

Player	Job
Player 1	Calls out vandals/fires, stops threats, handles extinguisher or repair.
Player 2	Keeps bar, lotto, slot collection, cleaning, and rating under control.

3-player crisis split

Role	Job
Defender	Calls out and handles vandals.
Repair/fire player	Uses the extinguisher and takes machines to the workbench.
Floor player	Collects money, cleans, restocks, and watches rating.

4-player crisis split

Role	Job
Defender	Carries the bat and watches for vandals.
Fire/repair player	Handles extinguisher and workbench repairs.
Service player	Runs bar and lotto so customers do not pile up.
Money/cleaning player	Collects machines, cleans goose mess, and checks rating.

Geese, Trash, and Graffiti

Geese are lower priority than fires and vandals, but they still matter. Goose mess affects cleanliness, and cleanliness is part of casino rating.

Handle them like this:

• Kick geese out when they appear.
• Clean goose mess after active danger is handled.
• Do not leave piles of trash near machines.
• Clean graffiti once fires, vandals, and broken machines are under control.
• Recheck rating after cleanup.

Troubleshooting Broken Repairs

If a repair seems stuck, use this checklist:

Problem	What to check
The broken slot will not repair	Make sure you bought the workbench upgrade and are using the correct repair area.
The repair prompt does not appear	Confirm the machine is actually broken, not just placed badly or blocked by another object.
The repair starts but does not finish	Look for remaining highlighted prompts or unfinished repair points before leaving the workbench.
The machine still looks broken after repair	Re-enter the repair interaction and check for one missed prompt.
You repaired it but cannot place it	Move away from walls or other machines, toggle snapping if needed, and place it in an open space.
Repairs take much longer later	Later machines can use longer repair interactions. Prioritize high-value machines first.
Vandals keep ruining repairs	Stop the vandal first, then repair. Do not repair while the source of damage is still active.
Co-op players keep duplicating work	Assign one repair player and one floor player so the casino does not stop running during repairs.

Quick Route Summary

If you are stuck, follow this:

1. Reach Jacob’s broken slot task.
2. Buy the workbench upgrade.
3. Repair the first broken slot through the workbench prompts.
4. Get the baseball bat from Beat ’N’ Run when the defense route appears.
5. Get the fire extinguisher when the task asks for it.
6. During emergencies: fire first, active vandal second, important machines third.
7. Fix the fastest rating drain next, whether that is mess, service, shelves, or toilets.
8. In co-op, call out the emergency before everyone changes jobs.

What to Read Next

If repairs are under control but money feels slow, read the early money guide. If you are stuck on Jacob or selling items, use the Jacob guide. If you want to reduce cleanup pressure later, read the first employee and cleaner guide once you reach the staff path.